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Tape vs. Business Continuity

It’s time to decide. You’re well aware of the dangers lurking around your clients’ data and systems—human error, server failure, power outage, malware, or even a natural disaster—and the potential for costly downtime that they bring. It’s time to decide. Do you trust your clients’ businesses to tape or would both be more comfortable with a robust hybrid cloud-based Business Continuity solution?

There’s a great quote in a recent case study with Datto Partner EZ Solution. Their customer, Allergy & Asthma Center, had recently switched from tape backup to Datto SIRIS when their Exchange Server crashed. As the client put it, “If we still had tape backups, what we would have had was tapes and nothing to restore it to.” That is not business continuity.

I know that a lot of businesses still rely on tape for their backups. But when more secure, reliable and cost-effective options are now available, it’s important to take a look at why it may be time to move on. And let’s not forget, tape storage was first introduced in the 1950s, around the same time as a few other favorites … LEGO, McDonald’s, Velcro, color TV, and the first modern credit card.

Human Interaction. Tape backup and storage requires human interaction. The more human interaction a product requires, the greater chance there is for human error. Whether it’s the person charged with changing out the tape or taking them off-site for safekeeping, there’s a lot of room for error.

Frequency of Backups. As a rule, tape backups are performed nightly. This allows for a complete backup of data while the business is not actively using any files. Many businesses require, or certainly feel more comfortable with, more frequent backups. Many Datto Partners schedule their backups to be taken once every 1/2 hour.

Proof of Backup. Just because a backup has been scheduled, does not mean it has been completed successfully. Tape cannot provide a snapshot of a successful backup. It’s imperative to demand your backup solution comes with Screenshot Backup Verification, which is an actual image of a successful backup, emailed directly to you.

Quality of Data and Backup. The value of a business’s data varies, based on its age and its content. However, one does not want to go to an old tape to find that the data was corrupted. Ouch.

Time to Restore Data. Today’s businesses demand, and should expect, superior RTO (Recovery Time Objective) with their backup and continuity solution. With tape, the time to restore data can be hours, days, or even weeks. That’s an unacceptable RTO. Demand an RTO of minutes.

Cost. True, physical tape is cheap. But it’s hardly the only cost. When evaluating Total Cost of Ownership is also important to take other factors into account, including:

Number of tapes required

Cost and number of tape drives

Cost of tape rotation

Cost of tape cleaning

Cost of off-site tape storage

Potential cost of failure and non-compliance fees

Cost of failure

Cost to recover data

Cost to recreate data

Lost revenue due to downtime

As you can see, the total cost of tape can add up quickly, and may not be the bargain it was once thought to be.

What’s really cool? Datto now has a way for you to actually make money from you and your clients’ old tape, with a Tape Buy Back Program. Whether you have dated storage tapes sitting in a closet or your customer is finally ready to upgrade from tape to a Datto Business Continuity solution, we have a way for you to get paid for your old tape.

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The Channel Company

Senior Editor

Matt Brown is a Senior Editor at the Channel Company, where he oversees the IT Best of Breed web site. Matt is an award-winning journalist with a wide range of experience covering financial services, commercial real estate, public policy and local government.

If you're interested in getting involved on this site, contact our editors today!

Matt Brown is a Senior Editor at the Channel Company, where he oversees the IT Best of Breed web site. Matt is an award-winning journalist with a wide range of experience covering financial services, commercial real estate, public policy and local government.

If you're interested in getting involved on this site, contact our editors today!